After some back-and-forth, the TTC is moving ahead with its plan to withdraw the free Wi-Fi it has offered in Toronto's subway stations for years.

It was revealed in mid-September that the commission's TConnect program was due to shut down by the end of 2024 because of the exorbitant price tag needed to keep it alive amid vastly diminished usage.

At the time, the transit agency told blogTO that the number of riders acccessing the service had plummeted a whopping 65 per cent since the rollout of Rogers 5G wireless began underground, with TConnect logins taking place on a mere two per cent of trips.

The service also was far from the smoothest or most user-friendly, often cutting in and out. Refurbishing it to operate past its current service term — which ends at the close of this year — was expected to cost around $17 million.

So, on Friday, the TTC announced that there will be no more complimentary internet on subway platforms after December 27, stating that the organization is "moving away from an old, unreliable network and toward more reliable and secure connectivity options for customers."

The #TTC now needs to ensure that the 5G network works all the way through the subway with no dead zones. Not everyone has a data plan either. https://t.co/sg1w26rCYi

— Bill Smith ♊️ (@billcs) September 12, 2024

"The free TConnect service in TTC subway stations has been declining in usage with poor performance while facing cybersecurity concerns and increasing costs," a release continued.

"With concerns about use, performance and security, the TTC has decided to decommission the service while continuing to work with Rogers on building out the fast and secure 5G cellular service in tunnels."

The same concerned parties that caused the commission to reconsider its stance in the fall have expressed further disapproval about this latest update. Advocacy group TTCRiders wrote on X that it is "shocked that TTC is ending free Wi-Fi, with so many questions about the true cost of keeping the service still unanswered."

It also shared stats about how the cost of keeping the resource could be closer to $11 million in capital, plus another $1 million per year — still not cheap.

"These millions to upgrade the infrastructure to address performance and security issues does not feel like a wise investment," TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said back in September.

"We think our customers would rather see that money spent on our core business – safe and reliable transit service. Given these reasons, we are comfortable with the decision to let the service expire by the end of the year."

He also noted that TConnect was not a part of the TTC's wireless contract with BAI, the company that owned rights to the cellular network in the city's transit tunnels, but was an add-on funded by pop-up advertising.